Boom, boom—

The sound of exploding shells could be heard in the distance.

A soldier lay in a wet puddle with a sniper rifle in his hand. Next to him, on a dead tree stripped of its leaves by artillery fire, rainwater dripped into the puddle.

Tick-tock, tick-tock—

The soldier opened his mouth to catch the raindrops dripping from the tree. He had been lying motionless in the crater for over four hours, watching as the crater slowly turned into a small puddle...

Besides the smell of gunfire, there was also a stench of burning flesh.

The soldier slowly shifted his body upwards, letting his neck emerge from the water, and rested his head on the body of Ryan, the soldier behind him who was only half-buried.

After confirming that there was no danger around, Private Zhang Fan of the 102nd Airborne Brigade of the Principality of Ryan tore open the waterproof bag on his chest, put a piece of compressed biscuit in his mouth and chewed it. Then he opened his mouth to catch the raindrops on the tree and swallowed the compressed biscuit.

Damn it!

Why am I in this godforsaken place?

...

When humanity ventured out of the solar system, believing a new era for the universe had begun, it discovered that civilizations existed everywhere, already strictly hierarchically divided, with human civilization belonging to the lowest level, the Type I interstellar civilization.

What would people think?

After filling out a questionnaire, Zhang Fan was labeled with a series of invisible tags: uncivilized fool, inferior person, illegal immigrant...

Zhang Fan originally thought he would have a tortuous and epic experience in the universe, such as having a ritualistic first contact with extraterrestrial civilizations, or at least seeing aliens with eyes like light bulbs, just like in science fiction novels.

However, none of them were correct...

"Fill out this form, then go over there and line up!"

Principality of Ryan, Border Entry and Exit Administration.

A plump woman at the front desk, who looked like a cafeteria lady, shoved a form into Zhang Fan's arms, pointed to the side, and then ignored him.

"Next!"

Zhang Fan was completely stunned.

"Zhang Fan, from Mars?" At a table at the front of the queue with a sign that read "Reviewer," a fat, middle-aged man picked up the form Zhang Fan handed him with his greasy hands and glanced at it. "Where is Mars? Which star system?"

"Well... actually, I'm not really sure either." Zhang Fan looked confused. "I don't know what you call our place..."

"The coordinates?" the middle-aged man asked impatiently. "The coordinates of Mars on the star map."

"What is a star map?" Zhang Fan's conversation with the other party was completely off-track.

"You don't even know the star map? Then there's nothing more to say. Go over there and wait for your assignment!" The middle-aged fat man threw the form back to Zhang Fan, waved him away, and said, "Next!"

Zhang Fan was completely dazed. He sat on a bench with his watch in his hand, waiting. There were quite a few other people sitting on the bench as well.

"Hello." The person next to Zhang Fan extended his hand to shake hands. "My name is Guderian, and I come from the Vega Nebula."

"My name is Zhang Fan." Zhang Fan was somewhat flattered. "Hello, I'm from... uh..."

“Hehe, it’s alright, I was the same way when I first came here.” Guderian chuckled. “We are always full of fantasies about the outside world, but little do we know that others see us as country bumpkins.”

"This must be your first time leaving your planet, right?" Guderian asked.

“Yes.” Zhang Fan nodded. “I was the first person to leave our planet and travel to another galaxy.”

“No wonder.” Guderian nodded with deep feeling, secretly pointing to the middle-aged fat auditor. “For us, it’s a groundbreaking first, but for them… it’s just another boring intrusion by a low-level civilization.”

“Mr. Guderian, are you saying that they’re already used to us ‘newcomers’?”

“Yes.” Guderian nodded. “To put it simply, every month there are several hundred low-level civilizations like ours that trespass into the borders of the Principality of Lane without permission, or accidentally enter wormhole jump orbits, or arrive here due to Star Trek.”

"I see." Zhang Fan was stunned. "So frequently?"

"So what we consider interstellar travel isn't so great in their eyes." Guderian nodded helplessly. "You'll soon realize that in their eyes, we're like frogs in a well, croaking incessantly as soon as we jump out, making a nuisance."

“Mr. Guderian, your analogy is very apt. I understand what you mean now.” Zhang Fan nodded.

"This is the kind of contempt a higher civilization shows to a lower civilization in a dimensional way." Guderian laughed speechlessly. "They'll give you three choices in a moment."

"One option is to repatriate them via the same route, but I think there aren't many spaceships that can return on their own via the same route."

Zhang Fan nodded with a wry smile; this was a one-way interstellar flight for him.

"Then you can also consider the second option: go to work on the resource planet according to their arrangements. This is also the option most 'newcomers' choose."

"Once you complete the work they assign, you will receive their 'reward,' and they will assist you in returning to your original planet."

"However, because they do not have citizenship of the Principality of Ryan, those who choose the second option will have their freedom restricted and will not be able to move around freely."

This option sounds like being forced into prostitution...

“The third option… is difficult.” Guderian shook his head. “Those who choose this option have the opportunity to obtain citizenship of the Principality of Lane.”

"Oh?" Zhang Fan immediately became interested. "What's the third option?"

"That means joining the Ryan Mercenaries. As long as you survive ten battles, you will automatically obtain citizenship of the Principality of Ryan."

"Is this...difficult?"

"As far as I know, no more than ten people obtain citizenship of the Principality of Ryan each year through the third option..."

"That means there are still people who can do it." Zhang Fan clenched his fist.

“I advise you to choose the second option as well,” Guderian persuaded Zhang Fan. “Although the second option is more arduous and takes more time, the ‘reward’ from the Principality of Ryan is enough to allow one to return to their original planet and live a prosperous life.”

"The 'rewards' they gave were not just material, but also included advanced knowledge and technology from higher civilizations. As far as I know..." Guderian swallowed hard, "Those who returned to their original planets with the 'rewards' all became heroes, and some even became kings of their planets."

"No, this is it." Zhang Fan smiled. He had his reasons; he had to find a way to stay.

Zhang Fan stood up and walked up to the fat auditor: "Excuse me, how do I get to the recruitment office?"

"Huh?" The chubby auditor was taken aback. This was the first time he had ever heard someone come up to ask this question. "Well, just keep walking straight down that corridor, then turn right and you'll see it."

"Thanks."

Zhang Fan turned and walked into the corridor. When he reached a secluded spot, he took out the pendant from his chest, opened the cover, and took a look.

The stardust is glowing.

I thought it would be very difficult.

It's like searching the ends of the earth without finding it, only to have it come to you effortlessly.